The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
How to overcome your phone addiction: Five tips to help you stop checking your mobile
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
They take photos, organise our lives, keep us in touch with loved ones and supply an endless stream of entertainment, but despite all of this smartphones are becoming a problem we need to solve.
According to recent studies, adults in the UK check their mobiles 33 times a day while for teenagers the number escalates to 90.
What’s more, spending extended time on our handsets has also been shown to impact our ability to form new memories, think deeply, focus and absorb information.
But, just how can you escape the tempting trap of mindless scrolling?
According to Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, there are a few simple tools you can use to develop a healthier relationship with your mobile and be more mindful of how you use it.
One of the first things Price suggests doing is setting boundaries and becoming more aware of how often you use your phone.
Here, she suggests taking action by downloading apps that monitor when and how long you spend on your mobile. By doing so, you should become more conscious of the things that trigger your phone use and, as a result, reduce your total phone time.
Similarly, it’s a good idea to establish periods of the day when you can go phone-free.
From picking a 30 minute slot to turn it off entirely, or leaving it at home when you go out for a walk, small steps can help you eventually build up to a full 24-hour detox.
Another way to tackle this is by determining specific spaces where your phone should be banned. One of the easiest and most effective areas to do this is your bedroom, which studies show can improve sleep.
With more than a third of UK adults looking at their phones within five minutes of waking, and more than half doing so within 15 minutes, this simple move could mean you get control back.
Worried about waking up on time? Then invest in an alarm clock instead.
Finally, one of the biggest temptations when it comes to phone use is that feel-good feeling we get when receiving a like on one of our various social media apps.
To tackle this, regain power by turning off your notifications completely or keeping your phone on silent or airplane mode.
How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price is available from 8th February 2018.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments